Alexandria Takes Universal Bike Education For a Spin

  In September, WABA’s Youth & Family Education team trained eight Alexandria City Public School PE teachers for their first year of teaching third graders how to ride bicycles! For the 2016-17 school year ACPS will conduct a pilot program called Bicycling in the Schools—based upon the highly successful Biking in the Park Cornerstone program in DC Public Schools. The intent of these programs is to provide universal bike training and safety education to all students.  WABA is actively advocating for programs like this across the region. Alexandria begin their program with 150 students in third grade at Mount Vernon Community School in Del Ray this fall.  It was such a hit with the teachers and students that it was immediately expanded to include all 4th and 5th graders, for 450 youth on bikes. That adds up to 120,000 student class-minutes of bike time! Wowzers! Watch for more youths and their families enjoying the fantastic off-street Potomac Yard Trail between Braddock Rd. and the Four Mile Run trail. And if your children have been a part of an in-school bike education program, we’d love to work with you to help your community support riding after the school’s program ends. Please email youth@waba.org.